Mad Catz, the once popular gaming accessories maker, is back from the dead and vowed to launch high-quality and innovative gaming peripherals. At CES 2018, the company showcased a few products aimed at gaming enthusiasts. The company’s new lineup includes new gaming keyboards, gaming mice, gaming headsets, and other accessories. The company’s first gaming mouse…
Mad Catz, the once popular gaming accessories maker, is back from the dead and vowed to launch high-quality and innovative gaming peripherals. At CES 2018, the company showcased a few products aimed at gaming enthusiasts. The company’s new lineup includes new gaming keyboards, gaming mice, gaming headsets, and other accessories. The company’s first gaming mouse in over a year is the R. A. T. AIR, while the first gaming keyboard is the S. T. R. I. K. E. 4. The F. R. E. Q. 4 is the company’s newest gaming headset. Let’s have a look at all these new gaming peripherals in detail.
The Mad Catz R. A. T. AIR is a hybrid optical gaming mouse that comes with a detachable illuminated mouse mat. The mouse lacks any batteries, and since it’s a wireless mouse, you might be wondering how it gets the power. Well, the power is delivered by the mouse mat that comes with it. The German-made capacitors inside the R. A. T. AIR are wirelessly charged through the coils inside the mouse mat. So, does the mouse die if you lift it from the mat? No. The capacitors can hold the power for 20 seconds from the moment you lift the mouse. You can also connect the mouse to the PC with a microUSB cable, if need be.
The mouse mat has RGB lighting on its sides and it needs to be connected to the PC using a USB cable. The mouse uses a Pixart PMW3360 sensor with a DPI range of up to 12,000 and a polling rate of up to 1000Hz. It has ten programmable buttons and the right and left mouse buttons can withstand for up to 20 million clicks. It also has a size-adjustable parts which can be configured according to a user’s palm size. The horizontal scroll wheel and other buttons can be customised using the company’s Flux Interface software.
The Mad Catz S. T. R. I. K. E. 4 is a gaming keyboard with per-key RGB lighting and mechanical switches that are rated at 50 million keystrokes. The company hasn’t specified if it is using the widely used and reliable mechanical switches from Cherry or from other brands like Kailh or Gateron.
The keyboard also supports all-key roll-over anti-ghosting, which is also known as N-Key rollover by most other gaming keyboard makers. The RGB backlighting can be configured to output 16.7 million colours and 18 kinds of lighting effects with modifiable brightness and speed. The company’s Flux Interface software can be used for all these customisations. There are dedicated keys for multimedia control.
The Mad Catz F. R. E. Q 4 gaming headset from the company has RGB lighting on its sides, and the earpads can easily be swapped. The company is bundling two sets of earpads: one set with leather-like material and one set with fabric material. The company claims that the ViviTouch actuator modules produce sub-woofer like bass effects and the 40mm drivers can create a live-sound experience.
It has a frequency response of 20Hz – 20,000Hz, an impedance of 32 ohms, and sensitivity of 110db/mW. The headset also comes with a two-metre oxygen-free cable (OFC), a steel frame, in-line controls, and a gold-plated USB jack. The LED lighting effects on the earcups include breathing, colour cycling, heartbeat, rainbow, and solid, and these effects can be activated or customised using the company’s Flux Interface software.
